The Dancing Cockatoo
by instant.flare
Summary: Things are weird these days. Percy Jackson goes on a school camp to Washington D.C. but meets a girl unlike others. Because normal girls don't have a suitcase full of books. The two in the middle of a budding romance discover a bird that seemed to have a mind of its own.
1. Chapter 1

**I never knew I'd be the type of person to do lots of stories at once but ideas just keep coming. This story actually has some truth around it. I got inspiration from a camp we went on at school. Enjoy. Prologue.**

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 _If you looked, you could see its cuts and bruises If you listened, you would hear a voice full of loneliness and loss. If you cared, you would know what it wanted. And nobody cared._

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In the quiet night of a Wednesday's afternoon, a cry was heard. A mourning cry for a lost friend; full of sorrow and loss. The cockatoo cried. It's only friends had gone. But how could a cockatoo bond with the type of giant creature that was responsible for trapping it in a zoo? The cockatoo's mind whirred. Sometimes things were unclear to him. He hoped one day he could know everything; Surpass the physical problem of being 'just a bird'. Many people said to him that he was 'just a bird'. But these friends didn't. This was so confusing. The cockatoo slunk back onto its sleeping perch with the other birds in the cage. A hope sparked in the bird's heart that one day, the friends might come back.

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 **This is just the prologue so I didn't do much. The real first chapter is going to be released on Christmas.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Merry Christmas everybody! Sorry for the rating change. You will see why I changed it in this chapter. I just wanted to be absolutely safe. One follow and review is already looking good. Thank you blackphoenix12 for being my first review. Percy does not have any powers just saying. On with the first chapter of The Dancing Cockatoo.**

 **It isn't actually Christmas. I'm going on an overnight camp at Christmas with no wifi so I had to release this early or late. I prefer people not thinking that I am lazy.**

 **Disclaimer:**

 **Characters such as Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase belong to Rick Riordan. I own the plot and the cockatoo idea but nothing else. This is a fanfic made by me so I am using some ideas from the PJO series and the HOO series such as pairings, relationships, events and timelines including family and history. This is a fanfic and not a real fiction novel that is going to be edited and published.**

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Percy looked at the bus that was rumbling down the road and hefted his school bag. He still couldn't believe that he had survived one year of school and not gotten kicked out. Today he hoped that whatever luck had carried him this far would stay with him for this trip because they were going down to Washington D.C. to learn about and experience the capital. The bus rumbled closer to the school gates.

The teachers began organising all the students. Percy was fifteen. He was well built and devilishly handsome. Girls swooned to him but he didn't care about them. All he cared about his mother. Back home, Gabe was most likely demanding sauces and beer for his poker game. Percy gritted his teeth. He needed to survive this trip and make his mother proud. He couldn't wait for the day Gabe would be kicked out for good.

The bus stopped outside the school gates and Percy hopped on. He found a seat near the back and got a window seat. He wondered what would happen at home without him and hoped there would be no trouble on the trip. His hope shattered when Drew, the captain of the cheerleaders plonked down next to him.

"Hi," she smiled while inching closer to him. Percy hugged the window like it was his life. Mrs Dodds the algebra teacher started informing them of the rules.

"No vandalism of the rooms. No-" she started. Drew put her hand on Percy's thigh and Percy gasped in surprise while pushing her away. The hand came again on his arm. She squeezed and made her hand crawl up to his shoulder and down into his-. Percy shoved the arm away and whispered harshly to her to stop. She just giggled and leaned towards him.

"Does Mr Jackson have anything to say?" Mrs Dodds asked with her voice dripping with venom.

"No Ma'am," He mumbled and looked out the window. That was close. He couldn't afford to get in trouble when his family was balancing on the verge of collapse. Drew was finally not bothering him and laughing one of her million friends. Percy remembered a time when he had nearly got in trouble. It was when he nearly pushed Nancy Bobofit into the fountain.

(Flashback)

 _Nancy smirked and dropped a peanut sandwich on Grover's head. He just plucked it off and kept on eating the apple Percy had given him. Percy fumed. He hated it when she did that. He believed that Nancy should be taught manners. She looked at Percy and smiled when she saw an angry face. She walked behind Grover and kicked him hard on the behind. Grover jumped and dropped his apple onto the ground._

 _Percy snapped and walked up to Nancy. He was about to push her when Grover put himself in between them and said, "Stop. It's okay. She's not worth it."_

 _Percy gave her one last glare and walked away. It was tempting to push her. It was even more tempting when there was a fountain positioned nicely behind her. In his mind, Percy chanted, "Don't for the sake of your mother."_

(End flashback)

Percy sighed and stopped staring at the trees whipping past. Just sleep it out, he said to himself and leaned back on the royal-blue seat. It was comfortable and his eyelids slowly drooped down. Just before the darkness consumed him, he felt a weight on his chest. Damn you, Drew was all he got to think before a dream overtook him.

(Dream)

 _Percy was in a narrow corridor with only a flickering light above him. He was at the end of it and was looking towards the dark area in front of him. He tried to stay calm. Where was he? How did he get out? Percy was about to take a step when he thought he saw a shadow move down the hall. His breath caught in his throat and a shiver ran down his spine. Percy waited for what seemed like an hour before moving again. His heart thumped out of his chest when he took another step._

 _The light above Percy flickered dangerously and he raised his foot for another step. He gasped in surprise when the light dimmed and turned out completely. Suddenly along the sides of the hallway, candles lit up all the way down the seemingly endless room. Percy sighed in relief and ran forward as fast as he could. Candles raced past him and ahead, he thought he saw a candle go out. He stumbled and fell, crawling backwards as he saw the candles in front of him get smothered by what seemed like a dark fog._

 _"Submit to your doom," a voice said. It came from all around like the whole room was speaking. Everything felt cold and Percy felt paralyzed as the hall boomed with laughter. Candles seemed to grow in size but reduce in light and warmth. They seemed more menacing now. Like hundreds of flickering eyes, staring at him hungrily. Wax dripped down each candle like saliva. The fog became thicker and lunged at one that was right in front of Percy. Now at a closer range, he saw that the fire didn't go out. It turned black and grew in size like a wolf, ready to pounce. The fog's laughter echoed in the narrow hall._

 _Percy let out a strangled scream as it crept closer, bringing darkness with it. He turned and ran, feeling a creepy sensation on his back. He heard what sounded like breathing and at the edge of his vision, he could see the darkness creeping up on him. Percy sprinted harder and saw the dead end he came from. He was trapped. He got to the end and spun around, tears dripping from his eyes. The darkness seemed to be grinning as it got closer. One last candle. Percy held his breath as the fog reached over to pinch out the flame. Pitch blackness. Percy screamed and begged for help. He felt something like smoke smother his mouth and make him choke. His lungs rejected the air and he choked, clutching his neck. A cold sensation spread through his body and he fell silent as the fog devoured him._

(end dream)

Percy woke up to find Drew sleeping on top of him. He gagged as perfume wafted up his nose. Drew was purring and muttering under her breath in a sleep talk. Percy groaned and pushed her away. His shirt was stained with makeup and lipstick. Ugh. He hated these type of girls. He crossed his fingers and hoped Drew wouldn't wake up. Percy thought back on the nightmare and shivered. He could still feel the fear coursing through his body. He decided to ignore it and watch the passing scenery of mountains and plains.

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The bus rumbled into the Mcdonalds next to the highway. They were at the midway brake and everybody got a cheeseburger. Percy got off the bus, grabbed a cheeseburger and stretched his legs. He dug into the food like a pig and did a run around the parked bus. Percy looked at the landscape. Trees were yellowing and bushes were dry. Climate Change was really affecting the world.

He thought back to Grover. If Grover didn't have a leg injury, he would have gone on this trip. He would have rambled on about the environment and greenhouse gasses. Until now, Percy had ignored those facts about how the Earth would die if humans kept doing things like this. He realised that this was how the government was. They would dismiss the rising concerns until it was too late. Percy kicked a stone with frustration. He didn't want to live in a world where trees didn't exist.

Percy lay on the grass, looking upon the sky. He thoughts drifted from his mother to his house to his childhood to his father. He had never met his father. All he could remember was a face just like his, smiling down on him like a sun. Then he disappeared. Percy's mother thought that he had run away after some other girl. The police said that he sailed out to sea, never to be seen again. The prophet said that he was lost in a place of death. Percy didn't think. He couldn't. He didn't know what to. Frustrated, he stood up.

He walked back on the bus and grudgingly sat beside the still sleeping Drew. Percy promised that when he grew up, he would do something for the world. The bus' engine started rumbling and Percy watched the stone he kicked fade away into the distance.

…

He made it! Percy sighed in relief as the bus parked outside the hotel they were going to stay in. Outside, he could hear the chirps of birds and bustle of human lives. He wondered what everybody was going through at that moment. If their mother was being forced to labour in the kitchen and at work by the husband. If they were taken away from who they love by a stupid trip. Well, it's only three days. As Percy was about to discover, a lot could happen in three days.

Percy carefully navigated between Drew and the seat in front as not to wake her. He shuffled onto the walkway through the bus. He stared outside the window and examined the building. It was made of pink bricks and had impressive arches. He was so busy looking at the hotel that he didn't notice the blond haired girl in front of him stop to marvel at the amazing architecture.

Crash! Stacks of papers and documents fluttered to the floor. The girl thumped onto the floor, slipping on the numerous pieces of paper. Percy gasped at what he had done and put out his hand to help the girl up. She blushed and took the hand. Percy started to pick up the paper apologising, "I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry." The girl just blushed more and helped him pick up the papers.

Suddenly a voice shouted from the front of the bus, "Annabeth Chase, now the papers are out of order. I trust you with the documents and you mess them all up. Detention!"

The girl called Annabeth teared up at the last bit. Percy, not wanting Annabeth to be blamed, argued, "It was my fault. I bumped into her."

Mrs Dodd's attention focused on Percy, "Then detention for you, Mr Jackson," she turned to Annabeth, "You are forgiven just this once, Ms Chase," she sneered, turned on her heel and marched away. Annabeth mumbled thanks to Percy and ran out of the bus, hugging the stack of paper. to her chest as if was precious. Percy sighed and slowly walked out of the bus.

Percy was made unload the bus because he was the strongest person in the grade or something. After a few minutes of carrying suitcases to their owners, he got to a very big and bulging suitcase. He tried to carry it but it felt like it was made of solid metal. He resorted to dragging it off the bus' undercarriage and read the nametag. It said in swirly letters, "Annabeth Chase" and had a picture of a smiley face at the end.

Percy sighed and looked through the crowd of bustling students and spotted the blond. As he walked up to her, she looked at him struggling with her suitcase and blushed. She ran to help him.

"What is in here!" Percy gasped, out of breath.

Annabeth blushed even more and answered, "Books."

"Is there a library in there?" Percy joked and Annabeth turned crimson. "You look cute when you're flustered," he said and gave her a wink which made her turn even redder if that was possible. A cough rang out behind him. Percy turned to face Drew. She glared at Annabeth and yanked him away.

"Come on honey," she said bluntly and took both of their suitcases, "You are not socialising with that nerd."

Percy tried to protest but Drew shoved his baggage into his hand and stormed off. Percy sighed and cursed the hormonal teenager. Many of Percy's classmates were beginning to leave to go to the hotel. The sun was setting and pink streaks filled the sky. It was Autumn and leaves were starting to fall off branches. Flowers were wilted but the Summer heat still stayed. Global Warming was in its early stages and everything was getting hot. Percy ambled his way to the reception.

Mr Brunner was already organising his students to go up the elevator to their rooms. Percy went to Mrs Dodds who was using the other elevator. Once he was in it, she pressed the button marked 4 and the doors closed. It was crowded in the elevator and everybody was chatting. The noise was bouncing off the close walls and was deafening. Percy covered his ears and noticed someone edge towards him.

"Hello, Percy. Enjoy the trip? How's your day? What did you do at the weekend? I went ice-skating. It was fun except for the times I fell over," Rachel paused to take a breath.

Percy grimly thought, "I was trying to stop my step-dad from killing my mum."

Rachel continued to rapid-fire talk until they arrived on the fourth floor. We were led to a big, open room where we were assigned rooms. Percy listened for his name and found he was in room 432. His cabin mates were Jason, Leo, Frank and Luke. He knew all of them as either close or distant friends. There was a brief discussion of do's and do not's before everybody was dismissed to their rooms.

Rachel got bored of Percy and went up to someone else to socialise with. He sighed with relief and looked around. Where was Jason? The last time he had seen him was at when they were boarding the bus. He remembered seeing him in a fluorescent-orange shirt. Percy spun around and spotted the bright orange shirt.

Percy walked over to Jason and smiled.

"Bags top bunk," they said at the same time.

"Jinks," a voice said from behind them. They turned around and found Frank, grinning. He grabbed both of their sleeves and dragged them towards their room. While dragging them to the rooms, Frank asked them where Leo was. Percy answered, "Most likely breaking the rules.". They laughed along with him then changed the subject, talking about the latest movie on Netflix. When Jason opened the door, he found a short boy with ruffled hair hanging upside down from a blanket-rope that was extended from one bunk to the other. They stared.

"Err. Guys? Can you stop staring and help me?" the boy asked. Percy started to snicker and Frank guffawed, rolling on the ground laughing his head off.

Jason sighed and stepped forward to untangle the blanket, "What happened Leo?"

The boy, Leo answered, "I was kind of errr. Um, making a ... errr."

"Spill it!" Percy shouted and Leo quickly answered.

"Making a hammock. I was trying to make a hammock."

Everybody fell to the floor laughing while Leo, still upside down blushed. Frank was first to recover and tried to untie him. He pulled a few times and gave up and shook him.

"Nooo! Don't do that! Argh. Catch me," Leo became free and without anybody catching him, he fell to the floor. Crash! The sound seemed to vibrate the whole building. Jason started to giggle but then the door slammed open. Luke went into the room.

…

Annabeth was listening carefully to the instructions given out by the teachers.

"No using spray cans outside the bathroom as this will cause the fire alarm to go off. No making hammocks out of your sheets as this may result in injury. Please go to your rooms. You will have one-hour free time before you begin showering."

Annabeth met with her group, Piper, Hazel, Reyna and Drew. They gossiped about boys and random events as they slowly meandered towards their room.

"Hey, Piper. Who have you got your eye on?" Drew asked, giggling.

Piper blushed and looked away before asking the same question to Hazel.

Drew didn't let her go, "Stop avoiding the question."

Piper blushed again and answered, "Noone."

Drew sighed and said excitedly, "You know Percy Jackson?"

Everybody knew him. He was the super hot dude who ignored everybody.

"I sat next to him on the bus!" Drew continued, "He slept so I could stare at him. He's so cute! He also drools when he sleeps. But in a cute way. A pity he didn't let me feel him."

Annabeth gagged at that statement and ignored the rest of the conversation. She remembered when Percy had crashed into him on the bus. He had helped pick up the papers and taken the blame as no other person would have. He seemed so selfless but in his eyes, Annabeth saw that something troubled him. He was worried about something.

She shook the thought from her head and looked down at the book she was reading. It was her favourite book. Bird by Crystal Chan. Even though it was a children's book, it had a deeper meaning. Annabeth loved to analyse these meanings and turn them into sticky notes that she stuck on the roof above her bed. She read: "Grandpa stopped speaking the day he killed my brother, John."

She always loved the first sentence of the novel. A good book would always have a good beginning. Annabeth was about to dive into the pages of the book when Reyna asked her something, "Have you met Percy?"

Annabeth spluttered and pretended not to hear but she asked it again and she answered, "No"

Suddenly there was a loud bang. "What was that?" Reyna asked, surprised.

Everybody shrugged and Annabeth looked back down onto her book.

The other girls resumed their conversation debating about what Percy looked like without a shirt but since he was a swimmer, people saw him like that often. Annabeth ignored it and got absorbed into the book. When the group of girls went onto the room, they squealed and rushed to get a bunk. Annabeth chose a top bunk and plonked down on it, not bothering to unpack her luggage. When her roommates finally stopped talking about Percy, she joined in with the talking. This was going to be a long night.

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 **So, do you like it? Follow and favourite and Review cause I would love to hear what you think. Consider this update as a Christmas gift. Bye for now. I don't know when I can update next. Most likely every one or two weeks.**


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